Hello again. It has been quite awhile since my last post, due to a lack of internet connectivity at the last place I went for the mid-March weekend off. For the 'long weekend' of March 8-11 (March 8, International Women's Day, is a public holiday in Uganda), I went to Sipi Falls, in the very east of the country. The waterfalls were very beautiful and it was nice to see a new part of Uganda.
I can't believe that March is almost over. I have had a very busy month! Things started out really well as we continued to hold our sessions with in-school and out-of-school youth. One of my favourite days was when we discussed gender with our out-of-school groups. The boys actually got into quite a debate over whether or not men and women should be equal, and to my surprise there were about an equal number of supporters for each position. With my still limited understanding of Luganda and the help of my team members' translations, I can say that I think that those who believe in equality did actually have a stronger argument. We also helped move the discussion in this direction by pointing out the positive benefits to relationships when everybody is treated with respect and kindness. Overall, it was a great session, and it reminded me of why I am here. Not every discussion is this good, but I think that providing a space for these conversations to happen is really important.
This month, our team also held several larger (read: funded) events. The largest of these was a football tournament, where teams from schools and communities in the area competed. The aim was to attract a lot of young people, so that we could raise awareness about Restless Development and the work we are doing. To help bring in teams, we chose to buy a goat as the prize for the first place team. This worked - we had over 12 teams register for the event! However, the goat seemed to understand that we were giving him up to be eaten, so on our first night looking after him, he managed to untie himself and attempted an escape. Picture this: the boys on our team buy a goat, tie it up to a tree near our house, and then leave for the night. It is getting dusky and dark. Somebody notices that the goat is gone, and points to something running towards the playing field opposite our room. In the near darkness, the police officers, Clare, and myself all run after the goat. I give up after it gets too far away as it is getting dark. As I walked back, I was thinking about how we would pay for another prize with our limited event budget if our first place trophy actually does manage to run away. But, luckily, after about 20 minutes, Clare and the police officer finally return - with the goat. The winning team was very happy, and I think that the sports event was a success.
Besides the goat, we have recently had other special visitors in Busaana. On Friday, Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, paid a visit to our subcounty. His speech was given on the same playing field where we had our sports event, and his soldiers camped out literally outside our door for the night before the event. The event was supposed to start at noon, and it kicked off with dancers, singers and other local entertainment. People poured into the field, although not all managed to make it through the one metal detector that was set up on one side of the (not-so-fenced) field. This went on for quite some time, until His Excellency arrived at 4:30 pm in a parade of black SUVs for a short speech before departing. He brought a tractor to the area for locals to use, and promised that the power would soon be extended to neighbouring areas. People seemed happy with his visit, but from an outsiders' perspective it seemed very highly orchestrated. I was not allowed to take pictures, and had to return my camera to my house after being told that I needed a permit 'from Kampala'. This visit came shortly after a session that I did in school on 'Civic Rights and Responsibilities', where the students told me that their most important civic duty was to 'respect the government'. It is definitely interesting to be in a country where democracy is viewed so differently, especially after a year of uprisings and Occupying in the news at home.
I hope that you have enjoyed this latest installment of my adventures in Uganda. In two weeks, we have a mid-placement holiday followed by some training, so I will likely have much more internet access in April. I am planning to explore more of the country and will be taking lots of pictures.
Cheers,
Lauren
P.S. The internet cafe I am using is being realllllllly slow at uploading pictures. It has been half an hour and not even one has loaded. I will try again soon and promise to put up a lot for my next post!
I can't believe that March is almost over. I have had a very busy month! Things started out really well as we continued to hold our sessions with in-school and out-of-school youth. One of my favourite days was when we discussed gender with our out-of-school groups. The boys actually got into quite a debate over whether or not men and women should be equal, and to my surprise there were about an equal number of supporters for each position. With my still limited understanding of Luganda and the help of my team members' translations, I can say that I think that those who believe in equality did actually have a stronger argument. We also helped move the discussion in this direction by pointing out the positive benefits to relationships when everybody is treated with respect and kindness. Overall, it was a great session, and it reminded me of why I am here. Not every discussion is this good, but I think that providing a space for these conversations to happen is really important.
This month, our team also held several larger (read: funded) events. The largest of these was a football tournament, where teams from schools and communities in the area competed. The aim was to attract a lot of young people, so that we could raise awareness about Restless Development and the work we are doing. To help bring in teams, we chose to buy a goat as the prize for the first place team. This worked - we had over 12 teams register for the event! However, the goat seemed to understand that we were giving him up to be eaten, so on our first night looking after him, he managed to untie himself and attempted an escape. Picture this: the boys on our team buy a goat, tie it up to a tree near our house, and then leave for the night. It is getting dusky and dark. Somebody notices that the goat is gone, and points to something running towards the playing field opposite our room. In the near darkness, the police officers, Clare, and myself all run after the goat. I give up after it gets too far away as it is getting dark. As I walked back, I was thinking about how we would pay for another prize with our limited event budget if our first place trophy actually does manage to run away. But, luckily, after about 20 minutes, Clare and the police officer finally return - with the goat. The winning team was very happy, and I think that the sports event was a success.
Besides the goat, we have recently had other special visitors in Busaana. On Friday, Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, paid a visit to our subcounty. His speech was given on the same playing field where we had our sports event, and his soldiers camped out literally outside our door for the night before the event. The event was supposed to start at noon, and it kicked off with dancers, singers and other local entertainment. People poured into the field, although not all managed to make it through the one metal detector that was set up on one side of the (not-so-fenced) field. This went on for quite some time, until His Excellency arrived at 4:30 pm in a parade of black SUVs for a short speech before departing. He brought a tractor to the area for locals to use, and promised that the power would soon be extended to neighbouring areas. People seemed happy with his visit, but from an outsiders' perspective it seemed very highly orchestrated. I was not allowed to take pictures, and had to return my camera to my house after being told that I needed a permit 'from Kampala'. This visit came shortly after a session that I did in school on 'Civic Rights and Responsibilities', where the students told me that their most important civic duty was to 'respect the government'. It is definitely interesting to be in a country where democracy is viewed so differently, especially after a year of uprisings and Occupying in the news at home.
I hope that you have enjoyed this latest installment of my adventures in Uganda. In two weeks, we have a mid-placement holiday followed by some training, so I will likely have much more internet access in April. I am planning to explore more of the country and will be taking lots of pictures.
Cheers,
Lauren
P.S. The internet cafe I am using is being realllllllly slow at uploading pictures. It has been half an hour and not even one has loaded. I will try again soon and promise to put up a lot for my next post!
No comments:
Post a Comment